Guitar
2017
Getting Nasty
we were going for dictate which guitar
to use. It’s amazing how different the
335s sound; even though they are all
the same model, each one has a unique
sound.”
The only electric guitar he used on
the record that wasn’t a Gibson is a 1932
National Triolian resonator guigtar.
When it comes to acoustics,
Strongman has a Gibson Blues King, a
small-bodied double-O guitar made
popular by legendary blues guys like
Robert Johnson. “There is a specific tone
to them that really cuts,” he says.
He also uses a Gibson J-45, a classic
guitar that is often referred to by other
musicians as “the workhorse,” since
singer-songwriters travel all over the
place with this reliable instrument. “I use
it in the studio and a lot live,” Strongman
says. “It’s a full dreadnought and produc-
es a bigger sound than my Blues King.”
Strongman loves to dabble in alter-
nate tunings with this acoustic, especial-
ly open D and open G.
Most of the songs on No Time Like
Now were written on one of Strongman’s
electrics. “For me, the writing usually
starts with a part or melody that I flesh
out on the guitar,” he explains. “I’ll build a
lyrical idea around that. Most of the time
it’s musically driven. I almost always have
a guitar within arm’s reach in my house
or down in my studio readily available. If
I start playing, that usually can spark that
creative process.”
54 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
No Time Like Now has some guitar
tones that Strongman simply
describes as “nasty.” For him, the
tone always starts with the play-
er’s hands. “It’s incredible. Take
someone like Mel Brown. It didn’t
matter what guitar he played; it
always sounded like him, whether
he used less drive or more gain …
it always comes from the fingers.
“I feel the guitar tones are
the theme that shapes the sound
of the record,” he continues. “We
recorded all the guitars in a make-
shift amp room in